A/N: Okay, I'm sorry, guys, I forgot to post yesterday! I'm sorry, I really just forgot... Oh well, I hope this chapter makes up for it! This one is my favorite chapter thus far, so I really hope you enjoy it! *Gestures pointedly toward the review box* Please review!

Harry was just about to make contact with her door, his fist hovering an inch away from the wood, when he paused.

What was he doing? He couldn't possibly wake her up so early. They still barely knew each other, he could never tell her about the Horcruxes, or about anything that had happened in Dumbledore's office.

His arm dropped back down to his side, and he stood facing her door, dejected. He turned and started to quietly pace the halls.

He really needed to talk to someone. He needed to hear that he was not crazy. He needed to know that someone else thought him as sane as he felt.

Still, he didn't know her. They had talked one single time alone. Besides, it was early, and he would not want to wake her up. Harry felt ready to burst, but he knew he couldn't go through with it.

He sighed and turned to face the door once again. He thought about all of the possible comfort waiting for him on the other side. She was separated from him by only a single panel of wood, but it felt like much more.

Then he turned away before he could change his mind again and walked back down the hall. But Harry stopped once again on the stairs. He needed to tell someone. He sighed heavily and sat down on the top step, torn.

On one hand, he would be able to tell someone about whatever was happening to him. They would be a voice of comfort to him, and he would surely feel better after talking with them.

On the other hand, he didn't know any of these people besides Draco, and Harry didn't want him to worry. Plus, it was early, almost 4 in the morning. He did not want to bother anyone.

He sat for a while in the semi-darkness, at a complete loss for what to do. Eventually, he realized that if he hadn't woken anyone up by now, he really didn't need to. He stood up and made his way silently downstairs once again. No one would ever know he was, or had been, woken up.

He opened the door and slipped outside. He froze in his tracks. Sitting on the steps was none other than Lupin.

Harry blocked for a moment, realizing that he was not wearing a shirt. He had to get a shirt on. He glanced around but found nothing to cover himself.

He could not turn his back on Lupin, or else he would see everything Harry was trying to conceal. He had no choice but to sigh and walk towards Lupin, taking care to keep his back to the door.

"Why are you up, and why can I never get rid of you?"

Lupin smiled slightly as he stood.

"Well, I was keeping watch when I thought I heard a yell in the yard. I saw you go back upstairs. I am out here because I thought you might come back, though I had hoped you would go to bed. Are you okay?"

"I am fine. I just want to go for a walk."

"Why did you go upstairs and come back?"

"I needed to do something."

"What?" Lupin asked, curious.

"Well…" Harry hesitated. Technically, he hadn't done anything.

"Forget it, it doesn't matter," Lupin said, obviously spotting Harry's reluctance. "Are you sure you are okay?"

"Yes, I just had a nightmare of sorts."

"Some nightmare to make you yell like that."

"What do you want from me?" Harry asked wearily, sitting on the steps. He was rather drained from his vision, or whatever it was. Lupin sat beside him.

"I want to know why it is 4 AM, and we are sitting outside, in the pitch black, you with no shirt or shoes on."

"Like I said, I had a nightmare. I get them a lot, and I have no clue why you are out here besides to bug me more than you already have in the few days I have known you."

"Come on, Harry," Lupin said impatiently. "I know it was more than a dream. Tell me what is wrong."

"No," Harry said, standing. "You weren't around for 18 years of my life. Though you think you know me after only a few days, you are wrong. Draco doesn't even know everything about me, and we have been living together for our whole lives. Stop trying to control me."

"Harry," Lupin said firmly, also standing. "I am not trying to control you. I am trying to talk with you to find out what is bothering you. You have made up some stupid excuses in your head as to why we should hate you. I don't know if it is just because of how you were raised, but I don't know what else you want us to do! You still believe we are out to get you, and we hate you and don't trust you, no matter what we do. We all want to get to know you, but you push us away. You are stubborn and a fool if you think Voldemort has no effect on your life anymore because clearly, he does." Harry stood there, completely stunned.

As he thought about Lupin's words, his shoulders sagged. For the first time, it was truly clear to Lupin the great amount of stress he was under. In fact, it looked like he had been carrying the weight of the world for a long time.

"I know," he said quietly, deciding to play for Lupin's sympathy. "I know I push everyone away, and maybe I do make up reasons why you should all hate me. I see no reason why you shouldn't." Harry said with a small laugh. "I am basically Voldemort's son. Why would you have any reason not to hate me when even I hate myself? I do push everyone away, but how could they ever be friends with me when I am constantly in danger of being hunted down by him? Also, the only people I ever trusted, the ones who 'cared' about me, lied to me for my whole life, so why get close to people when they are always in danger or disappoint me?"

He didn't make eye contact with Lupin but looked down at his feet instead. Lupin examined him for a minute and then said, "Harry," soft this time, his voice full of sadness.

Harry wanted to walk away; he wanted to run and hide from the world, but he knew Lupin was right about him pushing everyone away.

This was another part of the test.

So, instead, he sat down on the steps once more. Lupin sat down next to him.

"Harry, first of all, I am sorry you hate yourself because everyone else thinks you are great, and we want to be around you and get to know you better."

Second, you must realize everyone in this house is in danger. Have you ever wondered why Ginny is not in school? Or why everyone sleeps here? It is because the Weasleys are being hunted. No one is any safer or in any more danger than we were before you came."

Third, there will always be someone who disappoints or lies to you. There is no sense in dwelling on what you can not change. Instead, rise above them and prove you are not who they said you are; make them pay for their lies by trusting others. That is what will hurt them the most in the end."

Harry looked up at Lupin, thinking about what he had just said. He was right; Harry knew that. He had to start trusting others again, but he had been lied to for 18 years. It's not like that was an easy thing to just forget about. Harry sighed heavily. Lupin made it all sound so simple.

"How?" he asked, not looking at Lupin. "How can I really trust anyone? I will always think they are trying to manipulate me or something like that. How do I get past that?"

"It takes time," Lupin replied, "But you have to at least try. If you don't, you will never know what it feels like to trust someone completely and without hesitation, which is one of the best feelings in the world."

"Thanks," Harry said, looking him in the eye at last.

"Anytime," Lupin said with a slight smile. "You are already getting the hang of it. Do you want to come inside?"

"Listen, I'm not trying to push you away or anything, but I think I'll stay out here. I really need to think."

"Sure," Lupin said. "Lock the door when you come back inside."

"Okay," Harry agreed.

He started to get up but stopped in his tracks again. If he walked away, Lupin would be able to see his back. No one could see his back except Draco. He couldn't just stand here, though. He knew he looked like an idiot.

So he backed down the steps, keeping his eyes on Lupin. He backed away from him while Lupin watched with a puzzled expression.

Soon, Harry was far enough away from him that Lupin would not be able to make out his back. He turned and walked towards the woods. Harry sat down by a fallen log to think.

His chat with Lupin had made him realize what he was doing wrong with these people. It helped him to see why he was failing the test. He needed to stop pushing people away; even if he didn't trust them fully, he had to pretend to. It would be hard, and he wasn't sure if he could pull it off, but in order to pass the test, he had to try.

Failing was not an option.

He debated on what he should do now. Should he go back to the house and talk with Lupin, or should he wait till the sun comes up? He thought he would wait till the sun was up; he enjoyed watching the sunrise, and he needed some time to himself.

He leaned back against the log and then pulled away sharply. The bark was scratchy and hard against his bare skin. He leaned forward instead and watched the sun slowly peak from behind a hill.

Once it was completely up, he decided he had better go back to the house. He slowly got up and made his way towards it.

He opened the back door and entered the kitchen. Fred, George, Ginny, Lupin, Sirius, Mr. Weasley, and Mrs. Weasley were sitting around the table. All of them were enjoying plates of eggs.

"Nice shirt," Fred snickered.

"Yeah, and those shoes match it nicely," George added with a grin.

"I forgot to put on a shirt when I went out this morning," Harry said with a slight smirk.

"Forget your shoes too?" Ginny asked innocently.

"It was early," Harry said, dodging the questions effortlessly.

He kept his back to the wall as he maneuvered carefully around them, slipping out of the kitchen before they could see his back.

He hurried up the steps and quietly entered his room. Draco was still asleep, so he dressed in fresh clothes for the first time in days and left the room as quietly as possible.

He made his way back down to the kitchen and was pleased to find that Ron and Hermione had joined the small crowd. He sat down next to them, and Hermione greeted him with, "I was beginning to think you owned no other clothing."

"Good morning to you also." Harry said, grinning. "I didn't have any other clothes till last night. When we left, Draco and I made our trunks shrink so we could easily carry them. When we got here, we didn't bother to make them large again. Last night, Draco got so fed up with having nothing else to wear that he made our trunks grow, so now we have clothes."

Ginny, who had also been listening to him, asked, "How was he able to make them grow if you have no wands."

"I have been wanting to ask you about that myself," Lupin said, pausing his conversation. "Do you have another wand?"

Harry smirked. "No, I do not have another wand. When we were younger, Voldemort showed Draco and me how to harness the magic inside of us. We both don't need wands to do magic. We can do any spell without one. Of course, using a wand takes less concentration, but if we ever get disarmed, then we can still fight. Draco is actually better at it than I am, but we both can do it."

"Could you show us?" Ron asked. Harry glanced up at Lupin and the rest of the table. They didn't object and were watching him as though they wanted to see it, too.

"What do you want me to do?" Harry asked.

"What is the hardest spell that you know?" Hermione asked.

Harry chuckled, "Hermione, you don't want me to answer that question."

"Yes, I do," Hermione said stubbornly.

"No, you don't." Harry said seriously, "I'll show you the extent of my power eventually, I'm sure, but for now…"

Harry looked around the kitchen. His eyes fell on a large glass bowl. He stood up and grabbed it. Harry looked at it a second before making it levitate in front of him. He took a step back so that they could see that he was no longer holding it.

With a slight flick of his hand, he made it explode into thousands of tiny pieces. They all shouted in protest, but before a single piece had fallen to the floor, Harry moved his hand again, and each of the pieces grafted back together.

Everyone gasped, but Harry wasn't done yet.

"Do any of you know the properties of Fiendfyre?" Harry asked them as the bowl continued to float in the air in front of them.

"Don't you dare," Sirius warned him, but Harry smiled mischievously.

"It starts a magical fire," He continued. "If it's not done by someone who knows how to control it perfectly, it could burn everything in its path… and I mean, everything. Even some of the best spellcasters have caused catastrophes with the spell. And it's the hardest kind of fire to extinguish— in fact, it's almost impossible."

The bowl erupted into large, wild flames.

"Harry, you're gonna kill someone!" Hermione shrieked, but Harry paid no attention to her.

"What most people don't realize is that they are only dangerous if you allow them to be." He continued, and he stuck his hand out over the fire, which was forming into the shape of a snake.

"See," He said as they all gasped, "It can't hurt me, or any of you for that matter. Fiendfyre is only dangerous if you have no control over it."

The fire danced harmlessly around his hands, seemingly unable to burn him, even though the heat of it could be felt across the room.

"Put that out immediately," Lupin commanded him.

Harry grinned, the fire gleaming in his emerald eyes.

"Why?" He asked, "It's not like I'm going to— oops!" The bowl flipped over, turning the wild flames upside down.

Everyone yelled, jumping to their feet and pulling out their wands, but Harry merely laughed and flipped the bowl again, extinguishing the flames with a wave.

"You only fear it because you don't know how to control it." Harry said, placing the bowl back on the counter. "What were you going to do with your wands? Do any of you actually know how to stop it?"

"Don't ever," Lupin said, "do that again."

Harry's smile faded as he looked at Lupin. "Learn how to control it, then you can tell me what I should do with it."

"Harry," Hermione chastised, "That was very irresponsible! You could have burned the house down!"

"No, I couldn't have."

"Why not?"

"Because I would never allow myself to do that." Harry said simply.

"But if it went out of control…"

"No spell I cast will ever go out of control," Harry said firmly. "Anything it does is completely under my control at all times."

Just then, Draco entered the room and stopped in the doorway, looking around at the room. "Everything alright?"

"Yes," Harry smirked, "Just fine."

"Why does Lupin look as if he is about to have a panic attack?"

"Harry was showing us wandless magic," Hermione said quickly. Draco frowned.

"What did you do?" He asked, rounding on Harry.

"Nothing," Harry insisted. Draco turned to Hermione.

"He was messing around with Fiendfyre."

"Hey!" Harry said, turning to her. She smiled lightly and shrugged.

"Well, you were."

"Did you burn anything?" Draco asked, looking around the room.

"No," Harry said.

"Kill anyone?"

"No,"

"Great, let's eat." Draco sat down at the table, and Harry held up his hand to stop Mrs. Weasley from standing.

"I'll cook, Mrs. Weasley. You enjoy your breakfast." He said, walking over to the gas stove. She looked perplexed but did not argue.

"Draco, what do you want?"

Draco thought for a minute before grinning.

"Pancakes."

Harry chuckled at his friend's predictability and opened up the ice box. Mrs. Weasley looked uncomfortable, and the rest of the table watched Harry curiously.

Harry paid them no attention, though, casually flicking his hand in the direction of the stove. A pan jumped to it, and the fire lit under it. The fridge burst open, and ingredients soared out of it, pouring the correct amounts of themselves into a bowl that Harry held.

"I didn't think you could cook, Harry," Lupin said, breaking the awkward silence that had fallen. A spoon flew into Harry's hand, and he rapidly mixed the batter as he looked at Lupin.

"I've been cooking since I was young." Harry said, "I used to really enjoy it; I still do, in fact. I got pretty busy, though, so I haven't been able to do it as much lately."

"A real shame, too," Draco added, "No one makes roasted chicken like Harry does."

"You give me too much credit." Harry insisted, flicking his hand again.

The bowl flew to the counter, and the batter started to portion itself. Harry held a hand over the pan to see if it was hot enough before putting a slab of butter into it.

"I really don't." Draco said, "You have a talent, Harry."

Harry just shook his head and flipped the first pancake. Harry moved his hand in a circular motion in the air, and two plates, forks, and knives flew to the table.

Hermione jumped out of the way of the incoming cutlery, but it was not necessary. Harry was in perfect control of the entire kitchen.

Before anyone knew what had happened, Harry had placed a large stack of pancakes, along with butter and syrup, in front of Draco.

"Help yourself," Harry said to his friend, who had already done so on his own accord.

"Thanks, Harry!" Draco smiled as he doused his pancakes in syrup.

"There are plenty to go around," Harry said, turning back to the kitchen.

He could hear them all taking a pancake, but he kept his attention focused on the kitchen. Everything Harry had used was now in a sink, washing itself. The counters were being wiped, and the fire in the stove had been put out.

The extra ingredients zoomed back to their respective places, and the garbage filled the can, which was set in a corner. As soon as everything was done being washed, it was placed back in its original position. With one more flick of his hand, Harry vanished the garbage and looked around at the table again.

Everyone, with the exception of Draco, was staring at the kitchen, which was now the epitame of cleanliness. They all then turned to look at him, their eyes wide at the spectacular display of magic.

"How did I do?" Harry asked, trying to snap them out of it. It seemed to work because they all exclaimed at once how talented he was. He looked at Draco, who nodded and smiled.

Harry plated a pancake for himself, and after taking a bite, he had to admit that they were some of the best ones he had ever made. The rest of the table sank into a comfortable conversation, their focus shifting away from Harry, who was obviously uncomfortable with the praise.

Harry noticed Lupin's eyes on him and Draco while they ate. Harry made eye contact with him, and he smiled before turning to Sirius and saying something.

Harry was turning back to his food when the pain hit. Harry dropped his fork with a clatter, and he clenched his fists to keep his hands from flying up to his head.

His forehead had started to pulse painfully again, just like it had earlier. He tried not to show it, but it was building again. What could he do except wait it out? He didn't want to leave, but the pain was building.

He had to get out of there. He said he had to use the bathroom and then practically ran upstairs to the furthest bathroom he could.

He locked the door and stuffed his fist inside his mouth to keep himself from shouting. He saw the lawns of the Manor flickering before his eyes, but he resisted the pain. He didn't want to sink into Voldemort's thoughts, not now.

Harry sank to his knees, not wanting to give in to this pain. He stayed in that position for a while, and soon, the pain started to subside.

He eventually felt comfortable with removing his fist from his mouth and saw it was bleeding slightly from where he had bitten it. He turned on the sink and washed it off. You barely see the marks anymore.

He examined his reflection in the mirror. He was pale, and his scar stood out against his skin. He opened a cabinet by the sink and found a bottle of Pepper Up potion. He gulped it, and the pain diminished even more.

He looked at his reflection again and was relieved to find that he looked almost normal again, except his scar. It still stood out harshly on his forehead. He pressed his bangs down gently and left the bathroom.

It didn't seem as if he had been gone for very long. Everyone was still eating his pancakes.

"So Harry," Sirius said as he sat back down. "I know our lessons didn't go well last time, but I was wondering if you wanted to try again?"

Harry hesitated for a minute and then replied, "Sure," with a smile which did not quite reach his eyes.

Even though the potion had helped him, his scar was still prickling. He really did not want to go with Sirius, but he figured if he was going to seem like he was trusting them more, he would have to do this.

"Great," Sirius said, "Do you want to go now?"

"Why not?" Harry nodded, and he quickly told Draco where he was going.

"If I burn, meet me in the back gardens away from the others." He hissed, and Draco nodded.

Then he followed Sirius out of the back door and into the woods where Harry had sat only hours ago, watching as the sun rose.